CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Board member Rosve Henson urged tuberculosis (TB) patients to avail of health services given by the provincial government and the Department of Health.
The board member made this appeal in behalf of Gov. Lilia ‘Nanay’ Pineda during the assembly of some 1,650 TB patients from the first, third and fourth district of Pampanga held at Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center recently.
BM Henson said TB patients should not be afraid to go to hospitals as the provincial government allotted funds for the free enrollment of TB patients in Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) through the point-of-care program.
“There is no reason for you not to be treated. There is no reason for you not to be checked by health professionals,” the board member said in vernacular.
It can be noted that Gov. Lilia ‘Nanay’ Pineda recently vowed to include TB patients in the no-balance billing policy being implemented in the district and provincial hospitals in Pampanga. The policy provides that no other fees or expenses shall be charged or be paid for by the patients.
According to Nickson Manlutac, the National Tuberculosis Control Program in the province has successfully registered 97 percent case detection rate or 7,191 detected TB cases and 94 percent treatment success rate or 6,051 treated cases recently in 2016.
After the program, BM Henson along with Provincial Administrator Atty. Andres Pangilinan Jr, Executive Assistant Edna Vitug and chiefs-of-hospitals distributed some P1,650,000 financial assistance and multivitamins to the patients.
LIEZEL CAYANAN
